The present invention relates to a charging inlet device including a lock mechanism capable of locking a power feeding plug to a power receiving connector.
Vehicles with reduced carbon dioxide emissions, such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, have become popular in recent years. Such a vehicle uses a battery to power a motor, which produces rotation, and runs mainly using the drive force of the motor.
Whenever the state of charge of the vehicle battery becomes low, the battery is charged, for example, with a household outlet or at a charging station. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-161898 describes a power feeding plug connected to a distal end of a power cable. The power feeding plug is connected to an inlet of a vehicle to charge the vehicle battery. Further, the power feeding plug, which is the part of the cable a user grasps, is inserted into the inlet like when refueling a gasoline engine vehicle.
Although fast charging technology is being developed, the time required to charge the battery of an electric vehicle is still much longer than the time required to refuel a gasoline engine vehicle. As a result, the vehicle may be left unattended over a long period of time with the power feeding plug connected to the inlet of the vehicle. In such a case, someone may wrongfully remove the power feeding plug and connect it to another vehicle to steal electricity or steal the power feeding plug.
To solve this problem, a locking device may be used to lock the power feeding plug to the inlet of the vehicle. This prevents unauthorized removal of the power feeding plug from the power receiving connector.
To prevent unauthorized operation of the locking device, ID verification may be performed with an electronic key. For example, a key-operation-free system, which is installed in a vehicle, may be applied to prevent such unauthorized operation. However, a key-operation-free system would form a relatively large communication area outside the vehicle. Thus, when the electronic key is near the vehicle, ID verification would be accomplished regardless of where the electronic key is located. As a result, the locking device would perform a locking or unlocking operation even though the true user does not intend to do so.